Not a detective

Page 157

"Then, let's move on to the next round."

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter Twenty-Five - The Spear

"Wait a minute," Asakawa Riku interrupted them, "Shouldn't the first round be extended?"

According to his usual habit of playing rock-paper-scissors, if the game ends in a draw, both sides should take turns until the gestures are different and a winner can be determined.

"That would be a huge waste of time."

Principal Komiya shook his head: "Asakawa-kun, you should be able to sense it too, right? This is different from ordinary rock-paper-scissors. Although there are two more hand gestures, the probability of an abnormal draw is particularly high. If a round involves endless probing, this game might not end even after half an hour... I still have to continue working."

She pointed to the mountain of folders and documents piled on the table. Managing a school with nearly a thousand students and handling all aspects of it, the work must be incredibly demanding.

It's so late and he's still here instead of going home. It's probably not just for the game; working overtime is the main reason.

"This should be considered an additional rule..."

Asakawa Riku looked at Shinonome Suetsuki beside him.

"I have no objection. It's better for me to end it sooner."

She said it nonchalantly.

Asakawa Rikuya had nothing to say: "Since both sides have agreed, let's add a rule, namely, [when both sides' hand gestures are tied, it is considered a draw for that round and will not be extended. The original five rounds do not necessarily have to be best of three, but the one with more wins at the end wins. If the wins are still tied, we will consider whether to have a tiebreaker]. Is that acceptable?"

They all nodded in agreement.

The battle suddenly shortened...

Asakawa Riku paused for a moment, hoping to quickly catch up with their train of thought, and then announced:

"Round Two, Begin."

...

【second round】

...

"Scissors!"

When Asakawa Riku heard the first sound, he almost laughed out of anger.

Things got even worse.

"What's wrong... This should be allowed by the rules, right? I just did the same thing?"

Principal Komiya smiled smugly.

She went "first," and went even further, making the "three" gesture the instant the first command was given.

Three fingers were extended, pointing towards the other person, deliberately making sure that Mo Yue could see them clearly.

She mimicked the opponent's tactics, using the psychological advantage of going first to try to probe the specific effects or weaknesses of the opponent's gestures.

Just like before, although Shinonome Suetsuki knew very well what "San's weakness was", the problem was that she couldn't defeat herself.

In this self-made rock-paper-scissors game, the self-made hand gestures are the only trump card and weapon. If they are easily seen through by others, then there is no way to continue, and you will only be played.

Therefore, there is only one thing we can do in this situation.

That is, a forced draw.

"Stone."

"cloth."

Moyue continued calling out, her tone and attitude seemingly unaffected, remaining perfectly calm.

Could she have foreseen this round? Principal Komiya suddenly stared uneasily at her hand, believing that Suezuki would only make one gesture this time.

……three.

A draw with three players against three.

However, Suezuki made an unexpected gesture, still keeping her index finger straight and her thumb raised.

She brandished a gun once again!

Upon confirming the gestures between the two parties, Asakawa Riku paused for a moment, then said:

"Three pairs of guns... the effects of the two are contradictory, therefore, a draw."

"contradiction?"

Principal Komiya turned around in astonishment. Not only was Shinonome Suetsuki's move surprising her, but the outcome of the clash also surprised her.

Yes, it's a contradiction.

Asakawa Riku repeated, nodding.

He wanted to carefully consider how to describe the situation, but he found that the more he said, the more information he might reveal, so he decided that "contradiction" was the most appropriate word to describe it.

In the original rock-paper-scissors game, there was no "contradiction" situation: scissors beat paper, paper beats rock, and rock beats scissors, forming a cyclical relationship of restraint.

Even if it's a draw, it can only be because of "the same move," like last time, when both players used [guns], so it counts as a draw.

However, this rock-paper-scissors game is not an ordinary one. The "contradictory" situation is, of course, a special game brought about by "self-made gestures".

Since self-made gestures are not required to be incorporated into the original cycle of restraint, and are freely created, their biggest advantage is that they can "win against multiple gestures at the same time." For example, if a gesture can beat scissors and paper, it is much more powerful than rock. Therefore, self-made gestures are the trump cards of both contestants and should not be easily revealed.

But what happens when two homemade gestures collide?

A draw? No, of course not. The [gun] and [three] are essentially different gestures, and their clash cannot be treated as a "same draw".

We should judge according to their pre-set rules.

When Principal Komiya created this game, she deliberately created a psychological blind spot. She said, "This [self-made gesture] requires certain rules to be set in advance. You have to win against certain gestures and lose to certain gestures, such as 'winning against scissors and losing to rock.'" This statement is certainly correct, but most people, upon hearing this, would subconsciously create their own version of the gesture.

1. He won against scissors and paper, but lost to rock.

2. He won against rock-paper-scissors, but lost to paper.

3. He won against rock and paper, but lost to scissors.

This is to be expected, since the rules also state that "self-made gestures cannot be too strong and must have a weakness," so only these three situations remain.

If you win against two gestures but lose to one, the homemade gesture has a much higher win rate than the other three.

really?

People who think this way have mostly forgotten one thing—the other person's "self-made gesture" is actually also part of the gesture!

This game is not just about rock-paper-scissors!

So, what was written on Principal Komiya's note was:

[A homemade hand gesture used to indicate a loss after winning a game of rock-paper-scissors.]

When Asakawa Riku saw it, he was genuinely surprised.

Only the person who set the trap could have imagined hiding a weakness in an unexpected place, creating a gesture that is a deadly weapon capable of killing anyone.

Players unfamiliar with the game might think that the game only begins when both sides shout "rock, paper, scissors," but in reality, the subtle battle begins when the rules are created, and it can even be said that the outcome is already decided. Principal Komiya's creation of this weapon, when used at a crucial moment, can have a decisive effect.

This is a real gun; whether it's rock-paper-scissors or any other game, it will shatter with a single bullet!

"Miss Dongyun..."

Principal Komiya remained silent for a long time, then looked at the other person and said meaningfully, "If I'm not mistaken, your gesture should be the same as mine, right?"

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter Twenty-Six: Rock, Paper, Scissors

"Oh?" Shinonome Suetsuki raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because of the [contradictory] draw."

Principal Komiya explained, "When a conflict arises in this game, it will only occur when the self-made gestures of both sides collide, and there are only two situations: first, either both gestures are set to 'win over the other,' or second, either both gestures are set to 'lose to the other.' And I know what the effect of my gestures is."

—Her gun can only lose to the opponent's self-made gestures.

That means that the effect of [three] is inevitably "losing to the opponent's self-made gesture"!

A self-made gesture will only have one weakness. Once the weakness is identified, the outcome of the battle becomes clear.

Therefore, the effect of [three] is exactly the same as that of [gun]: both win against rock-paper-scissors but lose to the opponent's self-made gesture.

The effects will only be contradictory when the two meet, therefore Asakawa Riku declared this round a draw.

Is it okay to say this out loud?

Mo Yue smiled and narrowed her eyes: "You've been exposed."

“It’s alright, because you already guessed it, didn’t you?” Principal Xiao Gong shook his head with a serious expression. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have chosen the [gun] in the last round.”

If you want a draw without revealing your information, you should do it like in the first round: the principal plays a three, and she plays a three as well, resulting in a draw with the same gesture.

But Shinonome Suetsuki deliberately used the [gun], which indirectly shows that... she already knew that the two gestures would have contradictory effects.

"Actually, I wasn't 100% sure," Mo Yue said nonchalantly. "It's just that I guessed right."

"...You truly live up to your reputation, Miss Shinonome."

Principal Xiao Gong didn't believe her words and insisted that the young lady opposite him was indeed not to be underestimated.

I was worried about the difference in understanding caused by unfamiliarity with the rules, so I gave her time to think about and create gesture effects. But I didn't expect that in just a moment, she would create the same most efficient and lethal gesture as her. Moreover, in just two rounds, she noticed the details that the two gestures were the same, and forced a draw twice...

Moreover, this was Ms. Shinonome's first time playing this game, and she achieved such results. Her mental fortitude and thinking speed are terrifying.

"Two rounds have already passed, and both are draws."

Asakawa Riku reminded him, "The remaining three games will be best-of-three."

He looked helpless. In his opinion, this was not rock-paper-scissors at all. Both sides were competing to see who would make the first move, and then the other side would draw. This was simply absurd.

Principal Komiya clearly realized this as well; continuing like this couldn't go on, it would lead to an endless draw, and no winner could be determined.

"So, to avoid another tie, let's go back to the most basic game of rock-paper-scissors."

"original?"

"Yes, I'd like to add a rule: no more homemade gestures. We'll just decide the winner with pure luck. What do you think?"

Faced with Shinonome Suetsuki's attack, she seemed to have no choice but to surrender. At this point, the old-fashioned rock-paper-scissors was still the most effective method.

Asakawa Riku looked at the detective, expecting her to complain, "This is so boring! Making hand gestures is much more fun!" But to his surprise, she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I have no objection."

Did she also think that a draw like this wouldn't work, or...?

"I'm going to win no matter what."

It was her after all.

"Therefore, with both parties agreeing, the additional rules are determined."

Asakawa Riku declared that he had actually been eager to do this for a long time. Although the tense and exciting psychological game was very interesting, it was too mentally taxing for him.

It's difficult enough to understand their thought process and strategy, let alone put yourself in their shoes. It's much faster and more straightforward to play rock-paper-scissors and get things over with quickly.

He looked at the two men, who were eager to fight, paused for a moment, and announced:

"Round Three, Begin."

...

[Round 3]

...

Rock-paper-scissors is a classic and traditional ancient game.

There are two theories about its origin: one is that it originated in China, mainly recorded in the Ming Dynasty's "Wuzazu": the earliest rock-paper-scissors game originated from the hand gestures and fist fighting of the Han Dynasty.

Another theory is that it originated in Japan in the 19th century. By the 20th century, the game of rock-paper-scissors had spread to Europe and the United States, where it was called the "Japanese game." In French, it is called "jeu Japonais." This is because in the 20th century, the Japanese underwent significant Westernization and traveled to various countries around the world.

With such dissemination and promotion, many Europeans and Americans believe that rock-paper-scissors is a Japanese game. However, this does not mean that the game originated in Japan.

Neither of these statements is entirely certain, and there's still no conclusion. But one thing is certain: both sides in the game want to win.

Therefore, this ancient game has been passed down to this day, and many, many "strategy methods" have emerged: